Florida Recruits Slot Machine Police

Florida – Broward County is preparing to introduce thousands slot machines to the region.  And, like rats to cheese, the slot machines are expected to lure local organized crime mobs, cheats, and swindlers.  They will all come to Broward County’s four pari-mutuels for the same purpose, to bank millions of dollars by exploiting any security flaw that may expose the county’s new slot machines to vulnerability. 

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement now has the responsibility of ensuring that the slot machines bare no such vulnerabilities of which to speak. 

For the first time in the agency’s history, the FDLE has opened an office for the express purpose of policing slot machines.  Slot machine revenue from Broward County’s four pari-mutuels will generate millions of dollars for the state and it is up to the FDLE to protect that income. 

In preparation for Gulfstream Park’s presentation of 500 slot machines this October, the FDLE’s Gaming Enforcement Team will set up shop at the Hallandale Beach pari-mutuel.  The Gaming Enforcement Team will spread all 39 of their employees throughout the areas four pari-mutuels.  Every pari-mutuel employee associated with the new slot machines, from owners to janitors, will be subject to a comprehensive background check courtesy of the new FDLE team. 

Special agent in charge of FDLE’s Miami Regional Operations Center, Amos Rojas Jr., admits the new responsibilities will require some on-the-job experience, “Our challenge is that it is such a new initiative for us…Until we are actually on top of the horse and riding it, we don’t know how it’s going to ride.”  

Tom Giardina warns, “Any time there’s fresh blood, people are going to be drawn to it.”  But, as far as he can tell, the state agency appears ready for all of the headaches inherent to racetrack casinos (often referred to as “racinos”).  Giardina is the New Jersey slots specialist that provided the FDLE with a detailed slot machine seminar. 

FDLE agents are convinced that, more so than their on-site presence, in order to protect the slot machines from criminal elements, background checks will be invaluable. 
 
Michael Mann, the FDLE’s Assistant Special Agent in Charge, say, “We’ve learned from other jurisdictions that organized crime and people who shouldn’t be in the gaming industry attempt to be a part of it.” He continued, “We want to make sure that everyone has a ‘squeaky-clean’ record.” Mann oversees the entire Gaming Enforcement Team.
 
Background checks will include financial, criminal, and previous employment checks.  The state Department of Business and Professional Regulation will then use this information to determine the approval of licenses. 

Florida has quite an investment in Broward’s new slot machines and it is up to the FDLE to protect that investment.  Roja’s says that Florida collects half of every dollar earned from the slot machines as tax.  Annual projections are huge as soon as all four racinos are operating slot machines.  With machines at Gulfstream, Pompano Park Harness Track, Mardi Gras Racetrack & Gaming Center in Hallandale Beach, and Dania Jai-Alai, Florida schools will receive an estimated $209 million dollars in the 2007-2008 fiscal year. 

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